Monday began with a bang for Patchogue residents, as resident Scott Letizia, 42, plowed through a busy South Ocean Avenue intersection in his 2017 Honda Accord, past a bus, off-road and straight into a thankfully vacant storefront and an additional neighboring business.
According to Suffolk County Police, the driver was in critical condition at NYU Langone Hospital—Suffolk until it was confirmed that he passed away on Tuesday, Dec. 2nd. This was the sole injury and fatality in an incident that’s unsettling surveillance footage has been making the rounds on social media.
Per the investigation, the vehicle sped southbound through Main Street at alarmingly high speeds. Its mad dash past another vehicle at the cross-section and the aforementioned Suffolk County Transit bus—both of which narrowly averted the crisis—occurred at approximately 5:37 a.m.
Witnesses estimate the vehicle was roaring at velocities near 100 mph, given the fallout.
Letizia’s travel came to a slamming halt—save for a torn-off roof that went forcibly flying off the vehicle—within the now-fractured walls of an already out-of-commission 14 South Ocean Avenue.
After nearly a century of service to the community, the former Richard York shoe business storefront closed—remaining in an essentially demolished state for over a year before it saw unforeseen action of a different kind once more to commence the week.
Meanwhile, the adjacent Dragon Palace Chinese cuisine restaurant sustained additional damage.
This block was sealed off with yellow caution police tape into the evening as emergency crews picked up the pieces of the scene and officers worked to piece them together.
The investigation is still ongoing. What caused the late Letizia's erraticness behind the wheel remains to be seen. After his death, members of the community remembered the 42-year-old for his volunteer work.
Beware and be cautious out on the roads. Unfortunately, with the calendar turnover to wintertime holiday tidings also comes the indiscriminate venom of slippery roads at all hours.